Saint Joseph Catholic Church

“It is hard to think of another event, or cause, that receives this level of support from the hierarchy of the Church,” organizers said in a statement. “Their presence demonstrates the primary importance that the Church places on this key and fundamental issue.”

Rajapaksa, who was forced to resign in 2022, is one of several prominent political figures who have come under suspicion in the probe. The court placed also placed travel restrictions on an army colonel and a former intelligence officer. Earlier this year the former head of the government’s intelligence bureau was arrested on conspiracy charges.

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo, who in the past had charged that leading government officials were blocking any effective investigation into the Easter bombings, said in April that the new government was more interested in “searching for the truth,” although “some officials of the so-called ‘deep state’ are trying to obstruct the smooth conduct of the investigation.”

Pope Leo XIV told members of German Catholic student associations today that “human beings are always seeking God, and he has revealed himself to us as our Saviour.”